On December 16, 2024, the Government of Canada announced that Terry Fox will feature on the new $5 note. Learn what we know so far, and what’s next.
We have not yet started the design process for the new $5 bank note. We continue to work on the new $20 bank note, which we will issue in early 2027. The new $5 note will be issued sometime after that.
Terry Fox was selected by the Minister of Finance to be featured on Canada’s next $5 bank note.
This choice was drawn from a short list of eight iconic Canadians developed by an independent Advisory Council, which reviewed over 600 nominations. Find out more about the selection process.
What we know
- The new note will be polymer, predominantly blue and vertical in orientation.
- It will feature a portrait of Terry Fox on the front.
- Cash remains an important payment method for Canadians and the $5 is one of the most commonly used notes. As such, security enhancements that meet the needs of Canadians will be a prime consideration when we begin the design process.
What happens next
- The process of designing a new bank note takes a number years and involves several stages: research and development, design, and production. A key element of this process is the testing of enhanced security features that are easy to check and hard to counterfeit.
- Once the preliminary design is approved by the Minister of Finance, in accordance with the Bank of Canada Act, it is developed and tested before moving to production.
- We’ll then unveil the new $5 note several months before it begins circulating to raise awareness and educate the public, retailers, law enforcement agencies, financial institutions and others about its design and security features.
- The new $5 note will enter circulation only after the issuance of the next $20 note in early 2027. In the meantime, our current $5 note featuring Canada’s first francophone prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, will continue to circulate.
- Eventually, Sir Wilfrid Laurier will appear on the next version of the $50 note.